When it was revealed two weeks ago that Ohio State could still win the Leaders Division of the Big Ten, coach Urban Meyer said he was happy that possibility remained but that his team had far too much to worry about before that loomed very large.

Now, apparently, it's looming very large.

Meyer said Monday that he's already spoken to his team about it.

"The first time we talked about that was yesterday in our team 'state of the union' meeting we had, that you have an opportunity to go win your side of the Big Ten," Meyer said. "So that is a goal. And that was not a goal when we were playing UAB and Miami (Ohio) and Central Florida and Cal. It's a goal now. That's why we addressed it."

The Big Ten set up tiebreakers before last season's first season of divisional play which permit teams that are facing a postseason ban to win a division title and take home a trophy. Of course, they are not allowed to play in the Big Ten championship game. The tie-breaker system determines who the representatives are after the NCAA-sanctioned teams are eliminated.

But just in time for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. Big Ten opener at Michigan State, the Buckeyes officially were put on notice: They've got something big for which to play.

"So are we playing for something? You're darned right we are," Meyer said. "It's really important here. Look around. Really important."